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- [S24] The Newport Plain Talk, (http://www.newportplaintalk.com), 2 Mar 2005.
Clara Amalee Butler obituary
- [S24] The Newport Plain Talk, (http://www.newportplaintalk.com), 30 Sep 2007.
Butler Brings Vast State and Institutional Experience to C-N Vice Presidency
Source: The Newport Plain Talk
09-30-2007
"Asking people to donate money is really asking them to demonstrate how they feel about something," says Carson-Newman College's Vice President for Advancement, Vickie Butler.
"It's actually a process of looking for people who will volunteer to give their hard-earned money to support a particular mission, which in our case is the mission of Christian higher education."
For Butler, a 1976 C-N alumna who was named vice president in August, leading the school's Advancement Division is much more than raising dollars. It is the culmination of several things she loves: making friends, working with volunteers, and education. "Our work," says the former public schoolteacher, "is to offer people the chance to be philanthropists. We tend to think of philanthropy as some grandiose thing that millionaires do, but any time a person gives something to make a positive difference for others, that is philanthropy. Everyone can do something to support the things they believe in."
Butler's journey from C-N graduate to administrator began as a Knox County science teacher at Farragut Middle School. She served six years as a classroom science instructor, planning and implementing a curriculum, lecturing, and leading laboratory experiments. She oversaw the system's first generation of the Self-Paced Investigations for Elementary Science laboratory program and taught science lessons for homebound students on East Tennessee Public Television. It was not long before she was asked to lead conference workshops for teachers at statewide conventions.
As a University of Tennessee student in the late 1970s, Butler got to know Sammie Lynn Puett, a journalism professor who had been named Department of Human Services (DHS) commissioner by then-governor Lamar Alexander. Puett asked Butler to serve as her administrative assistant and assigned her the task of creating a statewide program to develop volunteers for the Department.
"I left my classroom in Farragut on a Friday in March of 1982 and reported to my new office in Nashville the following Monday," recalls Butler. "Sammie Lynn handed me a state map, said 'This is your territory,' and briefly described what Governor Alexander wanted. I was so flabbergasted that I asked for a year to get the program going. I told her if I didn't meet their expectations in that time that I would return to teaching in Knoxville."
Within the first year, Butler wrote the program's training manual and the corresponding promotional material and had traveled the state to establish it. A survey commissioned at the five-year mark showed that the program had recruited more than 5,000 volunteers who provided the equivalent of 18 years of service hours in that time.
Ultimately, the model was adopted by other state agencies. The Knoxville native says one of the great lessons of her professional life came on the heels of the program's first annual volunteer celebration.
"We had the celebration in Nashville and recognized outstanding volunteers from each region of the state," she remembers. "The next morning found me basking in the success of the day. Sammie Lynn smiled, complimented me again and then said, 'That was yesterday. What are you focusing on today?' That is something I remember daily."
She worked in Tennessee's state government until 1989 when she had the opportunity to return to C-N as alumni relations director. In the nine years she held that position, she developed an alumni program that, like her state work, built a support core around those who were willing to give their time to their alma mater. She worked with all areas of the Advancement Division and was a natural choice for former President Cordell Maddox. He asked her to lead the division on an interim basis in the summer of 1998 shortly after becoming director of development.
Named assistant vice president for Advancement in 2001, Butler's steady rise through C-N's ranks continued when she was promoted to associate vice president the following year. Beyond working with C-N's fundraising officers, she was assigned the task of leading "For Such a Time as This," C-N's capital campaign that closes at the end of this year. Her work with a committee of volunteers and National Campaign Chair Robert "Dr. Bob" Overholt led to an effort so successful that the original $50 million goal was raised twice, first to $55 million and then $60 million.
"That our campaign goal has been met twice reflects a campus effort," says Butler. "We are grateful to our investors because they chose Carson-Newman. They give because they feel compelled to because of our academic reputation and track-record of students who make a difference in the world. And they give because we are blessed to have staff members who do an excellent job of engaging longtime and prospective donors who believe in our mission."
Butler lives in Newport with her husband, Larry, who she met when they both worked for the state. Though he has retired twice, from the state in 1994 and from the real estate business in 2002, Butler says she is grateful to have him as a partner in her work.
"Sometimes it feels like they are getting two for the price of one because Larry has been at my side for my entire C-N career," smiles Butler. "He's assembled displays for workshops, helped me set up for alumni events and has patiently waited on me at dinners, banquets and donor visits. And I have consulted him on numerous occasions because of his understanding of business ethics and financial investments."
Butler says she is pleased to have the opportunity to lead C-N's Advancement Division because of the people with whom she gets to work. "People often think that our work is only about raising money," she says. "But it is much more than that. Our primary focus is to connect people to Carson-Newman's mission of Christian higher education, and those connections depend on the invaluable efforts of those who work in our alumni, communications, and donor relations offices. They key is to have good people committed to Carson-Newman, and we certainly have that."
- [S113] Manes Funeral Home, (http://www.manesfuneralhome.com), 8 Oct 2010.
L. Wayne Butler obituary
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